INCLUSIVENESS AND GOOD GOVERNANCE: IMPERATIVE FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Graduation Lecture Delivered by His Excellency, Brigadier General (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

August 2019, National Defence College, Nigeria

A youth leader always remains a leader.

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20181996

First, some definitions…

“Youth”: between the ages of 15 and 35

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“Good governance”:

Inclusiveness: equally value, and take into account the views and

contributions of every citizen

Regional development: integrated and concerted effort by sub-regional states to develop and align sustainable youth-centred policies.

The World and the region are acting for young people…

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• Opportunity through ICT

and education

• Social protection

• Integration and

participation

Main course of action:

… and leaders are stepping up their support.

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Our youths matter: they represent a challenge but a great opportunity.

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Africa’s demographic pyramid: Projected population growth:

What is the anxiety around the “youth” bulge?

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Youth bulge: stage of development where a country achieves success in reducing infant mortality but mothers still have a high fertility rate. The result is that a large share of the population is comprised of children and young adults, and today’s children are tomorrow’s young adults.

Violence?

Urbanisation?

Unemployment?

Lack of opportunity?

Financial exclusion?

Security?

Birth control?

Drug culture?

Identity politics?

Youths are part of a complex system, not the simple cause of poverty and violence.

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YOUTH

BULGEVIOLENCE

Correlation Causation

We need to understand the real precursors to

political instability and violence:

• Fragile and weakened state institutions

• Corruption

• Nepotism

• Governance deficits and inefficiencies

• Uneven state resource distribution and

management

• Lack of social services

• Poor infrastructure

• Etc.

What are the main barriers to the participation of youths in good governance?

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Governance structures and weak to no political participation

Difficult access to quality education, vocational training, and opportunity

Limited civic spaces and civic participation

Other structural barriers

What has been done in Sierra Leone?

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How can we put our youths at the center of governance and development?

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Democratic Inclusion, Governance, and Political Leadership

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Dr. Moinina David Sengeh,Chief Innovation Officer

Nabeela Tunis,Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

Timothy Kabba,Director General, Petroleum Directorate

Francis Ben Kaifala,Anti-Corruption Commissioner

How can we put our youths at the center of governance and development?

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Democratic Inclusion, Governance, and Political Leadership

Education and Skills Training

Entrepreneurship

Data and legal framework

Social Responsibility

Africa’s youth are an asset. You are our future!

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION